The format of the British Grand Prix will be different due to the introduction of the qualifying race to the sprint. This is the first of three scheduled races in which this new system will be used with a novel way of deciding the grid for Sunday’s race.
The Fridayteams will have only one 60-minute free practice session to fine-tune the car, before heading to the standard three-phase qualifying format with which we are all familiar. The result of the normal qualifying session decides the grid for the qualifying race at sprint.
Already the Saturday, there is a second and final 60 minute practice session, before the new qualifying race begins sprint of 100 kilometers. At Silverstone, this translates to 17 laps to determine the order of Sunday’s main event.
One of the key factors is that the cars are parked after the practice session on Friday
The new format has been introduced by F1, the FIA and the teams to breathe new life into the weekend, adding some new variables and bringing an additional challenge to the weekend. One that all teams face together, so it is a step into the unknown for all.
The modified schedule means there is less practice time for drivers and teams to fine-tune the car setup. The Free 1 Friday’s sessions will be the only real opportunity to test low-fuel runs for the qualifying session that same day, because Saturday’s session will be used in higher-fuel runs to prepare the car for Sunday’s race.
How does the new format affect from an engineering perspective?
It packs a punch, and one of the key factors engineers need to take into account is that the cars go into Parc Ferme after Friday’s practice session. «Once the car is in the parc fermé, there is very little we can change, since it is effectively blocked during the weekend, “they point out in Mercedes.
As a result, there is significant pressure in that first training session to fine-tune settings for low and high fuel load runs and high, plus power unit and brake cooling considerations. If mistakes are made with those parameters, the weekend could be very painful from then on.
There is also much less time to work on the car due to the enforcement of Parc Fermé rules, so mechanics and engineers have only three and a half hours to carry out work on the car. Part of this time will be devoted to the FIA checks regarding the legality of the car. The teams will recover the car on Saturday morning before the second session for another three hours.
On a typical race weekend, the team has seven and a half hours Friday night to work on the car. Therefore, the time frames will be more condensed with the new format And there will be added pressure on mechanics and engineers to put in a lot of work in less time.
Does it also affect the way the team will work?
It will have an impact on how you work on the track and how you work with the drivers. It’s a very different racing weekend, an unknown one, so teams will learn on the fly from how analysis work is scheduled to rescheduling their pre-event simulation work and of course their mechanical work on the cars. during sessions. Everything will change to adapt to the new schedule.
Once again, one of the key points is the pressure to get the correct specifications of the car in a much shorter period of time, with only one practice session before qualifying. Following this first event at Silverstone, the teams will sit down, discuss what worked and what didn’t, involving the drivers in those discussions and decisions as well, so that they are prepared for the next one (probably at Monza).
From the driver’s perspective, how will the weekend change?
In terms of fewer workouts, the key will be finding the optimal car setup. There’s not that much time to react and test configuration settings, so finding it faster will give you a head start.
This means that there could be more variability, particularly in the sort order. “The usual format has been pretty standard, apart from a couple of weekends where there have been fewer training sessions, so it will be good to try something different and see if it really affects the result », says Valtteri Bottas. I suppose it could work against you or for you, but we’ll find out.
Drivers love racing and the qualifying format sprint means additional races. Valtteri adds: «More careers for fans and more races for usso once we do it at Silverstone and hopefully two more Grands Prix, I’m sure we can draw a good conclusion as to whether this is the way forward in the future for some races or not.
The start and the first lap is one of the most delicate moments for a driver and prepares him for the race he must face, so having two starts to deal with, first in the qualifying race sprint and then in the standard event on Sunday, will be enough to add extra drama and pressure. Losing in the qualifying race sprint it will have a big impact on the main race and could make Sunday for a few very difficult.